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Lift vs Increase - What's the difference?

lift | increase |

As nouns the difference between lift and increase

is that lift is lift; elevator (mechanical device for vertically transporting goods or people) while increase is an amount by which a quantity is increased.

As a verb increase is

(of a quantity) to become larger.

lift

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) lifte, . More at (l).

Noun

(en-noun)
  • Air.
  • The sky; the heavens; firmament; atmosphere.
  • Synonyms
    * (gas or vapour breathed) air * atmosphere * (l)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) liften, lyften, from (etyl) . See above.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (intransitive) To raise or rise.
  • The fog eventually lifted , leaving the streets clear.
    You never lift a finger to help me!
  • * 1900 , , The House Behind the Cedars , Chapter I,
  • Their walk had continued not more than ten minutes when they crossed a creek by a wooden bridge and came to a row of mean houses standing flush with the street. At the door of one, an old black woman had stooped to lift a large basket, piled high with laundered clothes.
  • *
  • (slang) To steal.
  • *
  • To remove (a ban, restriction, etc.).
  • To alleviate, to lighten (pressure, tension, stress, etc.)
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=September 24 , author=David Ornstein , title=Arsenal 3 - 0 Bolton , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=The Gunners boss has been heavily criticised for his side's poor start to the Premier League season but this result helps lift the pressure.}}
  • to cause to move upwards.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=October 2 , author=Aled Williams , title=Swansea 2 - 0 Stoke , work=BBC Sport Wales citation , page= , passage=Graham secured victory with five minutes left, coolly lifting the ball over Asmir Begovic.}}
  • (informal) To lift weights; to weight-lift.
  • She can lift twice her bodyweight.
  • To try to raise something; to exert the strength for raising or bearing.
  • * John Locke
  • strained by lifting at a weight too heavy
  • To elevate or improve in rank, condition, etc.; often with up .
  • * Addison
  • The Roman virtues lift up mortal man.
  • * Bible, 1 Timothy iii. 6
  • being lifted up with pride
  • (obsolete) To bear; to support.
  • (Spenser)
  • To collect, as moneys due; to raise.
  • Derived terms
    * lift-off

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An act of lifting or raising.
  • The act of transporting someone in a vehicle; a ride; a trip.
  • He gave me a lift to the bus station.
  • (British, Australia, New Zealand) Mechanical device for vertically transporting goods or people between floors in a building; an elevator.
  • Take the lift to the fourth floor.
  • An upward force, such as the force that keeps aircraft aloft.
  • (measurement) the difference in elevation between the upper pool and lower pool of a waterway, separated by lock.
  • A thief.
  • * 1977 , Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld , Folio Society 2006, page 32:
  • The lift came into the shop dressed like a country gentleman, but was careful not to have a cloak about him, so that the tradesman could see he had no opportunity to conceal any goods about his person.
  • (dance) The lifting of a dance partner into the air.
  • Permanent construction with a built-in platform that is lifted vertically.
  • an improvement in mood
  • * November 17 2012 , BBC Sport: Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham [http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20278355]
  • The dismissal of a player who left Arsenal for Manchester City before joining Tottenham gave the home players and fans a noticeable lift .
  • The space or distance through which anything is lifted.
  • (Francis Bacon)
  • A rise; a degree of elevation.
  • the lift of a lock in canals
  • A lift gate.
  • (nautical) A rope leading from the masthead to the extremity of a yard below, and used for raising or supporting the end of the yard.
  • (engineering) One of the steps of a cone pulley.
  • (shoemaking) A layer of leather in the heel of a shoe.
  • (horology) That portion of the vibration of a balance during which the impulse is given.
  • (Saunier)
    (Webster 1913)
    Synonyms
    * (mechanical device) elevator * (act of transporting) ride * (upward force) uplift
    See also
    * escalator

    Anagrams

    * ----

    increase

    English

    Alternative forms

    * encrease

    Verb

    (increas)
  • (of a quantity) To become larger.
  • * Bible, Genesis vii. 17
  • The waters increased and bare up the ark.
  • * Shakespeare
  • The heavens forbid / But that our loves and comforts should increase , / Even as our days do grow!
  • To make (a quantity) larger.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Fenella Saunders, magazine=(American Scientist)
  • , title= Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture , passage=The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.}}
  • To multiply by the production of young; to be fertile, fruitful, or prolific.
  • * Sir M. Hale
  • Fishes are more numerous of increasing than beasts or birds, as appears by their numerous spawn.
  • (astronomy) To become more nearly full; to show more of the surface; to wax.
  • The Moon increases .

    Synonyms

    * (become larger) go up, grow, rise, soar (rapidly), shoot up (rapidly) * (make larger) increment, raise, (informal) up

    Antonyms

    * (become larger) decrease, drop, fall, go down, plummet (rapidly), plunge (rapidly), reduce, shrink, sink * (make larger) cut, decrease, decrement, lower, reduce

    Derived terms

    * increasable

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An amount by which a quantity is increased.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Philip J. Bushnell
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance , passage=Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.}}
  • For a quantity, the act or process of becoming larger
  • (knitting) The creation of one or more new stitches; see .
  • Synonyms

    * (amount by which a quantity is increased) gain, increment, raise, rise

    Antonyms

    * (amount by which a quantity is increased) cut, decrease, decrement, drop, fall, loss, lowering, reduction, shrinkage